


Family Cares

by Shadowuser



Category: Voltron legenerday defender
Genre: Antok still alive, Author Doesn’t Know How To Tag, Characters OOC, Gen, Keith is a galra kit, Keith is too used to looking after himself, Mother hens of Marmora, The blade is a family, Ulaz still alive, a bunch of people who should be dead are still alive, authors first fan fiction, hurt/comfort Keith, keith is really bad at taking care of himself
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26975923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowuser/pseuds/Shadowuser
Summary: Keith gets injured on various missions and hides it. When all of the wounds catch up to him, his close friends aren’t very happy with him and decide they need to prove a point.
Relationships: Keith & The Blade of Marmora
Comments: 6
Kudos: 76





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize in advance for any characters that are out of character and any grammatical errors I had a lot of fun writing this but no guarantee you will like it.

Keith’s vision blurred and the room seemed to spin around him, not a good thing when you're facing off against a robot whose goal is to hurt you. He had to finish this. Now. Its fist speared into his gut sending Keith sprawling. Keith felt more than one of his numerous wouldns pop open again and blood ran down the inside of his suit. His head smacked the ground and his vision flashed white. That was going to leave a mark. He wasn’t going to be able to finish this, he gasped for breath trying to find his voice before the gladiator reached him. “En— end training sequence!” He gasped and the robot powered down. He tried to stand but fell over again almost immediately, retching as the room spun around him. Tears sprung to his eyes as his bruised and injured abdomen spasmed. He took deep breaths trying to get it under control, there was nothing in his stomach to come out anyway.  
He could see no one else in the training room, and allowed himself this small moment to show weakness. A rare moment indeed, but heavens knew he needed it. using one hand to hold himself up and the other went to his left side. His right shoulder throbbed as he put as much pressure on his bleeding wound as he could and held his hand there, almost letting go purely because of the sharp pain in his wrist. He hoped it wasn't broken, it was just a sprain last he checked. He could also feel blood leaking out from other injuries but this one was by far the worst. Everything hurt, he wanted to just stay like this but soon others would come. Kieth dazedly stumbled to his feet, his knees almost giving way, the cut on his leg pulling uncomfortably, warm blood dripping from the inside of his thigh and his head was pounding. His ankle also complained at the new weight, a new ache, he must have sprained it during training.He had to take care of the wounds before he could rest, blood loss would only make things more difficult. Training while injured was not one of his best ideas, one of his worst actually, but it was too late now.  
Distracted by the pain he didn’t notice the pair of eyes watching from above.


	2. Kolivan doesn’t approve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kolivan comes to save Keith from his own stupidity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I again apologize for grammatical errors and character oocness. Constructive criticism is encouraged.

Kolivan hurried down to the training area, brow creased in concern.  
It was early and no one else was in the training room so kolivan had used the time to watch the young recruit. He had seen him fail to stand, watched him retch and gasp, he couldn’t see the best from up here but it was apparent to him Keith might need help getting to the infirmary. He could barley stand. As the doores hissed open Keith shot his feet and turned around to face him; swaying dangerously, but standing as tall as he could.  
His mask was on so he couldn’t see his face, but he was certain that if he could it would be tinged with green. The training sequence couldn’t be the only cause of this. Keith had started this training while injured.  
“Kol— Kolivan.” Keith greeted, stuttering out his words and taking a sharp breath in between.  
“Do you need help getting to the infirmary keith?” Keith shook his head quickly, almost falling down again, luckily by this point Kolivan had crossed the room to stand by him and put a steadying hand on his shoulder, Keith flinched beneath him, breath hitching. A small whine escaping him making Kolivan freeze.  
He knew that sound, though he had not heard it in a very long time, he tried to find an explanation, thinking there was no way he could have heard what he thought he had.  
“I would say you do as you are unable to stand on your own.”  
“I’m fine,” he said stubbornly, stumbling away from Kolivan. His breath hitching as he stepped and he made that sound again.  
Kolivans followed to offer support and his blood ran cold as he became certain of the nature of the sound Keith had made; the whimper of a kit in pain. To many others it would have sounded like a sigh but Kolivan knew that sound.  
He tried to keep his actions in check, resisting the paternal urge to grab Keith in his arms and carry him all the way to the infirmary. He doubted Keith would appreciate that. “Are you sure your alright Keith?” He asked again, hoping for him to be truthful.  
“I’m fine.” Keith replied yet again, he seemed to be trying his hardest to seem that way. it wasn’t helped in the way he still swaying on his feet.  
Kolivan arched an eyebrow at that, completely unimpressed, Something became very apparent to Kolivan as he stood looking at Keith; he would be taking a trip to the infirmary. Right now. He ignored Keith’s squawk of surprise as he scooped him into his arms.  
“No wait— wait!” Keith struggled trying to get out of kolivan’s grasp. “I don’t have time to go to the infirmary!” He grunted straining as he pushed away from Kolivan but not having nearly enough strength to actually get away.  
“Oh?” Kolivan looked down at him, his eyebrow rising yet again but didn’t stop walking.  
“I have a mission today, I have to go get ready.” Keith said it like it should make all the difference.  
Kolivan stared at him, the kit expected him to let him go on a mission like this. “Your delirious.” He said with finality, his stride becoming longer.  
“No—“ he hissed in pain as he shifted to get better leverage, “no I’m not! I’ve got a mission at noon, I have to go—“  
Kolivan cut him off; “to the infirmary, I’ll inform your team you won’t be joining them. He tapped on his com link to activate it.  
“leader.” He heard on the other end.  
“Find the list members of the blade that are leaving on a mission, a name Keith Kogan will be on it; please inform the other members of his team that Keith will not be joining them as he is not cleared for active duty.”  
The reply of ‘understood leader’ was almost drowned out by Keith’s corus of protest as the vigor in his struggles to free himself from Kolivans arms increased.  
“No no no no! What! Why?” Kolivan simply tightened his grip and quickened his pace. “Put me down, you can’t do this!” Kolivan noted again how much weaker Keith seemed, he had no trouble at all keeping him from getting away, no matter how much he wriggled.  
Keith’s struggles lessened and he left breathing heavily in short pained wheezes. When he saw the entrance to the infirmary however, his efforts were renewed. “Put me down! I’m fine!”  
Kolivan huruphed and tightened his grasp, inadvertently squeezing Keith’s abdomen a bit tighter. he noted the texture beneath the suit, it felt like overlapping cloth. Like bandages. Keith gasped, letting out that very kit like whine tensing in pain, then went limp. Kolivan thought he had passed out, his concern doubling and he almost started running but worried jostling his precious cargo. His fears dimmed somewhat when after a moment of silence, Keith started struggling again, albeit much weaker than before.  
The door to the infirmary slid open as he approached, Ulaz looked up from what seemed to be organizing supplies, when he saw it was Kolivan and who he was carrying he quickly made his way over. Keith’s struggles decreased to the point were he was half heartedly tugging a kolivans hands, still hoping to free himself.  
“What happened?” Concern was very evident in his tone, it was obvious that he too had become fond of the blades newest member.  
“I’m not sure, but I know he is injured.”  
“I’m fine.” Keith protested between a pained gasp as Kolivan shifted his grip. It sounded to kolivan like he was speaking through gritted teeth.  
Ulaz went to remove Keith’s mask by tapping the release mechanism and Keith arched his neck away from his hands. He knew if the mask came off there was no more hope of escape. Ulaz raised an unimpressed eyebrow and removed the mask anyway.  
Keith’s face was very pale, paler even than normal, the only color was two bright red spots on his cheeks and several dark bruises marred his face. His eyes were glazed and he had deep purple bags under his eyes. He stared at them but seemed to be having trouble focusing on them. In all, he looked exhausted.  
Kolivan noticed the scent of blood then, and the sour sent of illness. Ulaz obviously noticed too because his look of concern deepened. He gestured to the nearest bed and Kolivan walked over and gently set Keith down on the edge of it.  
“Remove your uniform.” Ulaz ordered.  
“Keith scowled at them, “I told you, I am fine.”  
“Then let ulaz have a look at you and if he says you are fine you will still be able to make it to the launching deck in time for your mission,” Kolivan said as patiently as he could manage.  
It was obvious to Kolivan even without seeing the actual damage that that would not be happening. It was apparent to Keith too, it would seem, as he opened his mouth to argue, thought for a second, closed it, trying to think of anything he could say, he opened it again, “but—.”  
Kolivan interrupted him before he could begin, “you are not going to be leaving this room until Ulaz passes you with a clean bill of health, whether your uniform is stripped by force or with your cooperation is, it is going to happen. the choice is yours. Now.” Keith set his jaw  
“I’m fine—“ he began to mutter but cut off when he met kolivans deadpan expression. Kolivan raised an eyebrow, as if asking what he was going to do. Keith gave a growl of frustration glaring at him but when kolivans eyebrow arched further, as if that was even possible threat hanging in the air between them, keith very grudgingly and gingerly began to comply. Kolivan gave a grim smile of satisfaction. Keeping a steadying hand on his shoulder and doing his best to assist him. Keith looked like he would fall over the moment he let go. as slowly as a condemned man walks to his own execution kieth stripped down till he all he was wearing was a pair of shorts underneath his clothing.  
His body was a mosaic of blues and purples with the clashing of reddening bandages. Ulaz didn’t waste anytime, thoroughly disappointed that Keith hadn’t come by sooner but it was overcome with a feeling of concern. He Took one look and began to prepare a shot full of sedative. Calling out over his shoulder to Kolivan as he went, “help him sit before he falls.” Keith gave him a scowl at that, then saw what he was doing and his eyes widened.  
“I don’t need—“ A stern look from Ulaz and he went quiet; that seemed to be happening to him a lot today, but dang, These people could be scary.  
“I would have given you say in what I’m going to do had you come in earlier but seeing how most likely those injuries are at least a few days old, you are going to lie down and let me do my job.”  
“They aren’t that bad though.” He still managed. Ulaz got a very strong impression that Keith was going to be one of his worst patients.  
“I will be the one to decide that.” He stated firmly. Leaving no room for argument as he came back over with the syringe in hand. “Your arm please.” It wasn't a request. Keith looked at the needle with distrust and crossed his arms in front of him. Ulaz sighed loudly, “it is pain medication Keith, it is for your benefit.”  
Keith complied grudgingly, showing he was in more pain than he let on. Ulaz presses the contraption on the inside of his elbow and it gave a very quiet hiss as it emptied it’s contents into Keith’s blood stream. Keith stared at his arm were the liquid had just entered, an icy numbness spread across Keith’s body. When his mind began feeling foggy as well he frowned.“I thot it was only pain medication.” He slurred, body begging to topple sideways. Kolivan caught his shoulders and lowered him down till his back rested on the mattress, being sure to support his head.  
Ulaz gave him a small sly grin, “ I said it was pain medication, never that it was only pain medication.”  
Keith looked at him, betrayal shining in his eyes but its effect lost by his eyes sliding closed, a small breath escaping him. Ulaz immediately began cutting through his makeshift bandages. Removing the bandages he found the deepest wounds had been stitched somewhat messily, but the person that had done it knew what they were doing.  
“Nice to know you arn’t completely incompetent then.” Ulaz muttered quietly to his unconscious patient. It looked as though most of the injuries had been stitched more than once, the stubborn blade didn’t know when to stay down. He cut through a large bandage on Keith’s thigh and was greeted by a long cut, stretching a few centimeters above the knee in a diagonal line to the outside mid thigh. It had also been stitched but this one looked a little torn, as though Keith hadn’t bothered to redo it.  
Ulaz decided to just redo all of the stitching and rinsed out all of the wounds, cleaning them thoroughly. Ulaz removed the stitching on the most pressing injury first, a large wound that went all the way through Keith’s abdomen, it was bleeding sluggishly but Ulaz was more worried about the damage to the other tissues inside than stopping it, once he confirmed that nothing irreparable was damaged he set about taking care of it. Working from the inside out and making sure it was thoroughly cleansed. Keith was extremely lucky blood poisoning or infection had not already set in. It was horrific to see all of the now uncovered injuries that marred Keith’s Upper body, the heavy bruising around Keith’s chest suggested broken ribs, a scan later showed that to be true. the bruising and swelling on his right shoulder gave the impression that it had been dislocated, Keith had probably put it back in by himself. Through the whole ordeal Keith never stirred.  
Kolivans thoughts were dragged back to the whine Keith had made. Keith was young, that much was known, but he had told them he was an adult. It was likely he was an adult by his planet's standards, but galra were different, how different Kolivan wasn’t sure. judging from that one sound, not different enough. A child was fighting in a war that should have had nothing to do with him. If Kolivan was in his right mind, he would have made sure Keith didn’t go on another mission until he was an adult by galra standards but he knew that if he did that Keith would most likely quit the blade and go off by himself anyway. It was better that Kolivan keep him close on hand. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind for now, he could question Keith later.  
“How long would you say his recovery time will be?”  
Ulaz began to list off Keith’s injuries and it made him cringe mentally, “first and foremost, he showed signed of a concision and he will need time to rest completely for that to heal, previously dislocated shoulder will require at least two weeks without usual use to recover, it could have been much worse had he chipped a bone or torn something putting it back in,” he frowned as he looked down at Keith. “broken and cracked ribs, multiple lacerations and stab wounds, the one through his abdomen is most worrisome, most of them required stitching, they all,” he looked down again pointedly at the sleeping boy, as if to lecture him in his dreams, “will need time to heal without being broken open. deep bruising all over his body.” He noted Keith’s ankle, which was slightly swollen, then held up a similarly swollen wrist and added them to the list, “sprains in the right wrist and left ankle.” It was a wonder Keith had even been able to stand, much less done the level of training he had seen this morning, though he had certainly had trouble with that near the end. he was a lot more competent than a kit that was for sure. Didn’t mean he had to like having him in the field. Ulaz continued with a moment's thought. “I don’t know how fast his kind heals, but the very least amount of time healing will require is 3 weeks, the most I would put it at 5, and that’s just the bed rest, he will still have to take it easy.”  
Despite it all, Kolivan almost smiled when he thought of how Keith would react. It must have shown on his face because Ulaz gave him a questioning glance. Kolivan shared his thoughts, “he isn’t going to do that without some complaint. Would you believe me if I told you he has been on five missions this month?” Kolivan had looked over Keith’s mission history while Ulaz had been looking after him, it was only the middle of the month.  
Ulaz looked down at Keith in disbelief, raising his eyebrow at him taking in his injuries, the sleeping boy offered no reaction. He looked back at Kolivan and shared his own thoughts. “Most of these wounds look to be a few days old, some bordering on weeks. Not the stab wound of course, I believe he would be dead if that one wasn’t recent, that can’t be more than 2 days old” Kolivan didn’t find that nearly as amusing. “What?” It wasn’t really a question, more like an exclamation. Most of the wounds marring Keith’s body would have been enough to keep others out of action for weeks, but Keith had ignored them. Ulaz caught his line of thinking and both of them frowned at there youngest member. Keith would have had to have gone through several missions with many of these injuries.  
Ulaz huffed a breath and scowled, “stubborn fool is going to get himself killed,” he muttered under his breath. He finished cleaning and stitching up the wounds, tremendously glad that the deepest wound, going all the way through the lower abdomen, hadn’t pierced anything too dangerous or irreparable. He then wrapped them thickly in bandages, he then bound Keith’s arm to his chest to prevent movement of the aggravated shoulder. He wondered how many times Keith had had to put it back in, there was nothing he could do for his ribs besides icing them to bring down the swelling, he could elevate the sprained ankle and ice it along with his shoulder and wrist. He left Keith’s side to gather the ice packs. He propped Keith’s leg up and lay a cold pack across it, he lay another ice pack, this one bigger and flatter, across Keith’s chest and another on his shoulder and where his wrist was wrapped up against his chest.  
Regris chose that moment to walk in, “hey Ulaz I was wondering if— holy What!” he cried as he caught sight of Keith. “What happened?” concern evident in his voice. It may have been against the mission protocol for Keith to have done so, but Regris would never forget that Keith had once saved his life, since then they had become like brothers.  
“Missions, we assume.”  
“Missions plural?” Regris questions in disbelief.  
“It would seem this rookie,” he sent a pointed glare at Keith’s unconscious form, “has mastered the art of hiding injuries.”  
Regris stares at the form on the bed in disbelief, most of the damage was covered in bandages, but the bruising he could see would have been enough to keep most people off their feet for a while.  
“Did you need something Regris?”  
Regris looked up at him, he had been studying Keith’s injuries and the longer he looked the more he was questioning how Keith had been able to function until this point, he noted how Keith had been acting a bit strange last he had seen him. But nothing might have hinted at injuries of this scale. “Oh yeah…” He drew his attention away from his injured friend trying to remember why he had come. “I came in here for and after mission check up, but if your busy—“  
“I’ve just finished fixing up Keith, what seems to be the issue?”  
“Umm...” seeing Keith had made him forget his own pain and he had to remember what the problem had been; “I just came for something to help with pain. A soldier landed a hard blow to my ribs and I think they cracked up a bit.”  
“Let me see them.” Regris began taking off the top of his uniform so Ulaz could see his ribs. “Keith could learn something from you, the boy wouldn’t know when to quit if he was dead.”  
Kolivan nodded his agreement, chuckling quietly, but he wasn’t amused. “You should have seen him in training this morning, looked like I couldn’t figure out up from down.”  
Now Regris couldn’t help but voice his disbelief “he was training! in this condition?”  
“This fool was planning on leaving on a mission this afternoon as well, if I hadn’t been there for his training session this morning and guessed his condition, he most likely wouldn’t have made it back.”  
“Mission!? He was going on a mission? Like this?” Regris shot Keith a look, it’s effectiveness was lost due to the fact the target was still sleeping.  
”yes it has become apparent that the boy lacks common sense.” Ulaz deadpanned, changing the subject, he looked at Regris “your ribs are not broken but are heavily bruised. Take it easy for a few days, I’ll get you something for the pain.”  
Ulaz got up and came back with some pills in hand.  
Regris took them gratefully and popped them into his mouth.  
“How did this even happen?” Regris asked as he put back on his suit and came to stand next to the bed.  
“We don’t know.” Ulaz replied, placing a hand on Keith’s forehead to feel for a fever, he frowned when it was warmer than his liking. “It’s safe to assume it’s from one of his missions.”  
“And he was planning on leaving on a mission? Why didn’t his pack stop him?”  
Kolivan looked at Keith with sorrow at that. “I’m starting to think he doesn’t have a pack.”

The room fell into silence. Ulaz looked horrified. Galra, contrary to common belief, were very social creatures; they craved contact and needed it to stay sane. A pack was a foraged family made from trusted friends, it was a necessity yo any form of survival.  
“It’s worse,” Kolivan looked so sad at his next words. “Keith was making the sounds of an injured kit when I found him. It has come to my attention that he may be younger than we first believed.”  
“Kit? Keith is a kit?! He said he was an adult!” Regris if at all possible, looked even more horrified.  
“It may be on his planet his age would be that of an adult,” Kolivan informed with a solemn expression  
Ulaz looked down at Keith’s still form. He looked impossibly small all wrapped in bandages and covered in ice packs and bruises. “I’ll be keeping him here for a couple of days.” He told them as he reached down and brushed Keith’s hair away from his face. “maybe we could consider making him a part of our pack, to make sure he has someone to care for him.”  
Kolivan seemed to like that idea and nodded, “we can discuss it with the others tonight.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has a fever and is stubborn as heck, but sorta adorable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello people! If your reading this, the author appreciate you and hopes you are well. This chapter was fun to write but I am sorry for OOCnes and grammatical errors; I’m also sorry for far fetched or inaccurate medical knowledge. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

When Keith awoke, it was morning, meaning he had slept through the reminder of the day and through the night. His mission. He had missed his mission. He groaned as he went to sit up, he was hooked up to an IV line with pain medication and while it numbed most of the pain, he still felt like crap. He had to stop when the muscles around his ribs spasmed and his wounds pulled painfully. A scan of the room showed nobody was there, the digital screen on the wall showed it was four in the morning. The only reason he was awake was because his messed up internal clock told him it was time to train. He once again tried to sit up and managed with some degree of success, he was left leaning heavily on his arm and trying to stay up right. He moved his legs to the edge of the bed, just as he swung them to the floor, Antok walked in. He took one look at him and came over to help him lay back down. Guess he would stay in bed then. Antok was silent, but it was clear from his frown that he disapproved. When he had Keith laying down again he spoke. “I came to check up on you, I didn’t think you were going to try to get up but I came to make sure.” Antok often came to train at around the same time Keith did, so he new about his usual morning habits. Kolivan had informed him and the rest of their pack of Keith’s condition and situation. They had made a unanimous decision to make Keith a part of their pack. And as a part of their pack it was their job to keep him healthy, whether Keith liked it or not. He put his hand on Keith's forehead to feel his temperature. Antok could bet that if Keith didn’t have a fever, regardless of his injuries, he would have been up and getting ready to train by the time Antok had walked in. As he was now Keith was dizzy and delirious and probably finding it hard to move.  
“Mother hens,” Keith slurred under his breath. Antok grinned, he new about the earthen animal known as hens.  
“Maybe I’ll have to sit on you like a hen would. It might keep you out of trouble.”  
“Hmmm.” Kieth paused, then looked Antok in the eyes, frown on his face. “don't get into trouble”  
Antok raised an eyebrow at him.  
“Trouble keeps finding me,” It would have sounded sarcastic, except he said it with a whine in his voice and a pouty look on his face.  
Antok couldn’t decide whether he thought Keith adorable, or found this whole situation unnerving. He had never seen Keith so out of it.   
Antok found himself reaching out and running his hand through Keith’s hair. Keith leaned into his touch and closed his eyes, a purr beginning to emanate from his chest. Watching Keith like this reminded antok of his own kits, the ones the war had taken away from him. The war that had come close to taking Keith away too. It wasn’t until he had heard about Keith’s injuries and reckless behavior that he had truly realized what the boy had begun to mean to him. He stayed like that for a while then decided to try and get Keith something to eat. He stood and stopped running his hand through Keith’s hair, as he turned to leave, a soft whimper made him pause, he looked back to see Keith shift in his sleep, curling in on himself. Antok looked back at the door, debating if he should stay with Keith. Keith needed to eat, Antok had not see him in the dining hall at all the day before this incident, but… he sat back down next to Keith on the bed. He would stay until someone else came. He gathered Keith into his arms and wrapped the blanket tight around him, holding him close. Keith tensed at the movement, despite Antok being as gentle as he possibly could, though as soon as he resumed running his hand through his hair, he relaxed. He sat like that for a long time, not moving until Ulaz came in to check on his patient, nobody else was in the infirmary besides Keith so he had been going in every few hours to check on him and make sure he hadn’t just left.  
He smiled faintly at their positioning as he came over to the bed. Antok gently turned and lay Keith back down so that Ulaz could check his wounds, this time the only sign of Keith’s unhappiness was a brief frown crossing his face, but then it was gone. When Ulaz cut through the largest bandage around Keith’s waist, antok gave a low growl. Even for a grown soldier this was a lot, but seeing it on a kit— Antok had heard of Keith’s youth from Kolivan and he hadn’t liked it one bit.  
Ulaz looked up at him briefly, “he needs to eat something. get him some broth, from the kitchen?” Antok nodded and left the room. Ulaz checked Keith’s injuries, making sure none of the stitching had come out, he wiped them down, cleaned any blood from them and wrapped them as tightly as he dared. By the time he had finished, Keith had begun to stir. He blinked open his eyes to look at Ulaz, “your hands are cold.” He slurred, it was apparent that he still had a high fever from the heat of his skin, apparently in human standards it was higher. He had been giving him fever reducers but it hadn’t taken care of it completely.  
“Your skin is hot.” Ulaz replied, just finishing tieing the last bandage.   
“Mmm,” was Keith’s only replied as tried to turn over on his side away from him. Ulaz pulled him flat and pulled the blankets over him. Keith frowned and tried again he stopped when the pain of his ribs made it so he couldn’t get comfortable.  
“Try not to move so much.” Ulaz said drily and got up to prepare a cold rag of some sort, he needed to take care of that fever the old fashion way he supposed. When he placed on Keith’s forehead, Keith, who had apparently nodded off, jumped slightly and swatted it away.   
“What are you doing?” He sounded so betrayed.   
“I need to bring down your fever.” Ulaz said patiently.  
“But it’s cold.”   
Ulaz almost laughed. “That’s the point, it will help your fever.” Delirious Keith was adorable.   
Keith frowned as he tried to roll away, “don’t care. It’s cold.” Ulaz kept him from moving too far away. Keith was completely out of it, as cute as he was acting, it was concerning. He put the rag on Keith’s forehead and held him still, even as Keith wriggled, trying to get away.   
“Your being so mean.” He whined as he gave up. He looked at Ulaz with such a look of betrayal that ulaz almost took the rag away.  
“It really will help Keith.” He explained as he dabbed at Keith’s face. Keith winced every time the rag came into contact with his skin.   
“It’s still cold.”  
Ulaz just smiled faintly. Antok came back in then, carrying a bowl of some kind of broth, he came to sit beside the bed. A lot of chairs had been moved to this area in particular.  
“Do you think your up to eating Keith?”   
“Mmm not hungry.”   
Ulaz frowned. Keith hadn’t eaten anything in the last 48 hours, and that was just as far as he knew about. If he was going to overcome this fever, he needed to eat. “Antok just brought this all the way from the kitchens, don’t you think you can manage at least a few bites.”  
Keith must have sensed Ulaz’s concern because he didn’t argue, he gave a short nod and antok slid behind him on the bed, helping him sit up. Keith frowned, “I could have done that by myself.” Antok didn’t doubt for a second that Keith would have found a way to accomplish the task, but as he was swaying slightly as it was, there was some concern about whether he would have been able to remain upright. Antok grunted but said nothing as he straddled behind Keith, hands coming around either side of him. Antok towered over Keith’s small form so he was easily able to hold the bowl of broth in front of Keith and support him at the same time. Keith reached shakily for the spoon and brought it clumsily to his lips. He tried but kept missing his mouth, his hands shaking so bad that it spilled most of the liquid in the spoon any way. Antok finally took the spoon from him and held it up to Keith’s mouth. Keith frown at the spoon, reaching for it again but Antock grabbed his hand. “Please just eat?” Even in his state Keith could sense Antok’s worry, and only deepened his frown, glaring at the offending spoon before opening his mouth. He managed to eat half of the bowl before he began to slump back against Antok, he looked slightly green. Ulaz grabbed the nearest container he could find and rushed back to them. Just in time for Keith to expel all that he had just eaten into it. Antok set the broth down and held back Keith’s hair and helped support him as he threw up. His face was creased with pain. It hadn't taken long for him to empty the contents of his stomach but still he continued to dry heave, making small gasping noises that sounded like they were keeping back tears a s well. When Keith got himself under control he was as limp as a rag doll and barely conscious, the pain of his broken and bruised ribs and abdomen becoming too much for his brain to compute with. Ulaz took the container away as Antok pulled Keith close and leaned back, running a hand through his hair trying to quell the whimpers he had begun to make. He whispered softly to him in comforting tones, wishing Keith would have trusted them enough to have come for help sooner. Keith eventually quieted down as he fell asleep. Or maybe unconscious. Antok carefully moved out from behind him again and lay him down again, tucking the blanket around him.   
“How long are you planning on keeping him here?” He asked softly.   
“At least until his fever breaks, after that I’m not sure. I need him to rest but something tells me as soon as he is coherent he will try to leave the moment he isn’t being watched.” Ulaze chuckled ruefully, “it amazes me he was able to do all that he has been doing, half of these injuries should have been enough to dissuade him.”  
Antok raised an eyebrow at the sleeping figure, nodding in agreement, “when I came in this morning he was already trying to get up, would have been out that door in a couple more minutes.”  
Ulaz grimaced, “I ought to put a sedative in his IV line, stubborn fool. He is going to end up killing himself.” He lay a wet rag on Keith’s forehead, this time Keith didn’t stir.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is being babied and he hates it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same apologies as last chapter. I also recognize that their medical technology would be a lot more high tech/futuristic, but its more fun to write this way.

The next time Keith awoke, his fever had broken and he was a great deal more coherent. He opened his eyes when the feeling of bandage being pulled tight around his leg made him wince. Ulaz met his gaze and smiled faintly when he could no longer see the glaze of fever in them. Keith looked around briefly in confusion, wondering what he was doing in the infirmary. He knew why, his wounds must have betrayed him, but how did he get here? He looked back up at Ulaz, who must have noticed his confusion because he answered one of his un-asked questions.  
“You’ve only been here two days. Do you remember what happened?” Keith thought back and he vaguely remembered Kolivan scooping him up and bringing him to the infirmary, then Ulaz had given him pain medication and…  
“You drugged me.” Keith accused, giving Ulaz a scowl.   
Ulaz offered him a small menacing smile, “maybe you will think twice next time when you try to hide an injury and be more cooperative?”  
“It was—“   
Ulaz cut him off, “if you say, ‘it wasn’t that bad’ I will drug you again.” Keith shut his mouth with an audible clomp.  
“You do realize that if you had gone on that mission of yours, you almost would have certainly not come back.” It wasn’t a question.  
“I would have been able to handle it.” Keith said it with a confidence that Ulaz almost would have believed if he hadn’t seen the damage himself.  
“No, I don’t think you would’ve.” Ulaz found his patients waning, honestly what did Keith have to be so stubborn? “You would have either gotten the rest of your team in trouble or just gotten yourself killed.” Keith set his jaw but said nothing in response. With that note, Ulaz went back to work checking Keith’s injuries, “I’m going to need to sit you up so I can get to the others.” Keith pushed himself up as best he could with one arm without a word, the only sign that he was in pain was a very brief wince, most others wouldn’t have even noticed. Though he did sway dangerously once he was up and list to one side. Ulaz steadied him with a frown, ”you should not have done that. You're going to reopen your stitches moving like that, you should have let me help you.”   
Keith scowled at his incompetence and waited for the room to stop spinning. Ulaz worked quickly and quietly when he finished, he put an arm behind Keith to help him lay back down. Keith scowled again and would have insisted on doing it by himself but the warning in Ulaz’s eyes and the threat of being drugged again still lingering kept him from resisting. He rested back against Ulaz’s arm and let himself be lowered back down.  
“How long do I have to stay here?” Keith askes once he was lying down again.  
“Until I deem you well enough to leave.” Keith gave a short harrumph at that answer but let it be for now.   
“Do you think you will be able to eat something?” Keith considered it, he was hungry but the thought of eating made him feel slightly ill, and didn’t want to be a bother. Ulaz seemed concerned though and if it made him happy, he guessed he could eat something.  
“I guess,” he said with a shrug.  
Ulaz nodded, “I'll go grab it, I need you to stay here and stay in bed.” Though the words seemed friendly enough, Keith thought he could still sense the underlying threat, so Keith nodded. Ulaz scrutinized him for a second then nodded and left the room. Keith briefly wondered if he could make a run for it but then discarded the idea almost immediately. Kolivan would side with Ulaz so no where on base would hide him. He wondered how long they would keep him off duty, surely no longer than a couple of weeks. Right? A feeling of dread settled in his stomach at the thought of lying around for more than a few hours. It didn’t take Ulaz long to return, holding a sealed tray in one hand. When Keith went to push himself up, Ulaz razed one eyebrow at him and he froze then sighed loudly and relaxed back onto the bed. He glared at the ceiling in frustration. Ulaz slid one hand behind Keith’s back and gently helped him sit up. Keith was going to go entirely mad by the end of the day, never mind living through a week.

He made it to the end of the day without strangling someone, though he came close to it several times. They had never left him alone, he had fallen asleep after eating and when he woke up, regris had been there. He had given him a scolding and talked to him and like Ulaz, wouldn’t let him do anything. Thace had come by later and Regris had left. He had given him a disapproving look but had joked around and been kind, he hadn’t seen the state he had been in. Thank goodness. Kolivan had come later that night and given him a very big lecture and then told him that he was off duty for the next month. He had slept through a lot of the day, so he hadn’t really noticed their presence but if it was like this until he healed, he was going to go crazy. He considered running away more times than he could count. Maybe going back to Voltron until this passed over. But thinking of how Shiro would react made him dismiss the idea immediately. The thought of his brother ever finding out about his current condition almost made him shudder. He would be locked in his room until his hair turned grey. He was alone right now, if there wasn’t a major risk of feeling Ulaz’s wrath, he would have left, gone back to the dorms. But they would probably catch him. He didn’t understand why they were all being such mother hens. Sure, he had a good relationship with all of them, they were like family if he considered any one that close. But why were they babying him? He found his eyelids drooping and that was his last thought before he fell asleep. Things would go back to normal soon, how long could they keep this up?

A long time, Keith soon found out. A very long time. Three days since his fever broke and he hadn’t been alone for almost that entire time. Three very long days they had been. It’s like they knew him well enough to know the second he was alone he would leave, weird. Aaahhhrrrggg! He needed to vent. It was currently 3:55 am and no one was with him. Never mind health risks, he sat up, waited for the room to stay still and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Consequences be darned, he needed to do something. Once standing and he wasn’t about to fall over with a breath (seriously, this was pathetic) he quietly made his way over to the cabinet where his uniform was folded neatly. With a struggle, he more or less got it on, unable to get one arm through because it was still bound to his chest, good thing the material was stretchy. He was ready to get the heck out. He had made it safely to the door without falling over, using his one good arm to support him. The wound on his leg was throbbing something fierce by the time he made it, his ankle too. when the door slid open and he was standing face to face with Kolivan. Keith let out a startled yelp and stumbled back a step. A mistake, his injured leg gave way and he lost his balance. He tried to catch himself but it was a bit hard with one arm, luckily Kolivan was there. Kolivan swept him up bridal style with ease.   
“Just where did you think you were going little blade?” Kolivan looked down at him with a disapproving glare.  
“For a walk?” He had tried his hardest to sound confident, but it still came out sounding like a question.  
“Were you now?” the disapproval was clear in his voice. He strode back to the bed Keith had just left, depositing him on it gently. “What made you think that was a good idea?” Kolivans eyes were sharp and piercing, Keith’s mouth went dry. Why were these people so good at making him feel guilty? “Remove your uniform, you won’t be getting it back for a few weeks.”  
“What! Kolivan I need out! You can’t expect me to just lie here for the next couple of weeks!”   
“Yes, I can.” Kolivan gave Keith a long, stern look. “Keith, you don’t know how hard it was seeing you like that. You looked like you had taken a dive off a cliff and then fought off a dozen soldiers.”   
“I was doing my job Kolivan, the mission is more important than the individual.” Wasn’t that obvious?  
“But that’s when the mission is in danger from the individual, you weren’t on a mission Keith. You should have come had your wounds checked out the moment you got back with them.”  
“I can look after myself Kolivan.” Why was that so hard for them to understand, “I’ve always looked after myself, I don’t see the fact that we’re fighting in a war changing that.”   
Kolivan looked at him with a strange glint in his eye, almost sadness but with something else. “You call this looking after yourself? If you can’t stand without falling over, it’s generally a call for a break.”  
“So maybe I let it go a little too far this time, but that doesn’t mean you need to treat me like an invalid.”  
Sounded reasonable to Keith, but Kolivan was still caught on the first thing he said. “This time?” He almost growled the words.  
Keith’s face told he knew he had just made a mistake. “Uh—“ but before he could get any further Kolivan continued.  
“It seems that this experience will teach you a lesson, we need you to know that we are here.” He softened his tone a bit at that last part, but then he hardened it again “if you try hiding something like this again, i'll make sure you regret it.” Keith didn’t like the sound of that at all, he knew Kolivan had guessed about how much he hated being babied. Kolivan looked at Keith and could tell the threat had hit home. He smiled wickedly, he could also make it more clear by milking this time for what it was worth.  
“Now kit, your uniform if you would?” Keith glared and muttered underneath his breath, something Kolivan didn’t catch but sounded suspiciously like ‘mother hens,’ before taking is suit off again after all the trouble he had putting it on over his injured shoulder. Kolivan was tasked with making sure he didn’t fall over and injure himself further.   
“Thank you,” kolivan said in a dry voice when he was done, plucking the suit from his grasp. He then placed his arm behind Keith, “now lay back down.” He commanded.   
Kieth let out an indignant growl mixed with a sigh that sounded too high to be anything but a kit’s before complying.


End file.
